Monday, February 21, 2011

A short video on where books come from -- great for a giggle. :) Some of the comments are just as funny, particularly the ones that take the video seriously and wax indignant with their corrections, hee!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

If you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. :) I do these posts every month, so if this post isn't dated in the same month you're in, click here to make sure you're seeing the most recent one.

Markets with specific deadlines are listed first, "Until Filled" markets are at the bottom. There are usually more details on the original site; always click through and read the full guidelines before submitting. Note that some publishers list multiple antho guidelines on one page, so after you click through you might have to scroll a bit.

Non-erotica/romance writers: check out Anywhere but Earth, Triangulation: Last Contact, Mortis Operandi and the Horror Library.

[The whole site bangs off one URL; scroll down a bit and click on the Anywhere But Earth logo for content info, then on the Submissions button on the left for formatting, etc.]

Coming in 2011, Anywhere But Earth will bring you stories that challenge your ideas about the future; tales of the adventures, discoveries, mistakes, revelations, and testing times that individuals or humanity as a whole will face and how we will be changed by, or adapt to, those experiences. Stories will be set in deep space, on human or alien vessels, orbital platforms, rocks, planetoids, terraformed worlds and alien environments. In short, anywhere but Earth. Fantasy or Horror stories will not be accepted, although your Science Fiction story may have horrific or fantastic elements.

A minimum word length of 3,000 words applies to all submissions. The maximum word length is 15,000 words although to be published at the upper end you’ll have to sustain our interest for the entire story length. Longer pieces may be accepted for assessment but send a query email first (see the contact email box below).

Payment is calculated on the basis of 1 cent (Australian) per word (paid on acceptance of story), plus a contributor’s copy of the anthology (on publication), plus a proportion of royalties on sales of the paperback and e-book (paid every six months from publication) based on the following formula: [see submissions page for formula -- basically a penny a word (Australian) plus a trib copy, plus proportional royalties.]

The current Great Cycle, as the Mayas call it, is set to end on the winter solstice of 2012: December 21, 2012. Many people believe on that date the world will change and never be the same. Some predict terrible events resulting in the destruction of our world and some predict that it won’t necessarily end, but that humanity will enter a new era and massive changes in social consciousness may occur. Some even predict that humans and humanity may evolve spontaneously to a higher plane.

Samhain Publishing invites you to step into the future when Earth as we know it no longer exists. But the End of Days doesn’t mean an end to hope and heroes and, most importantly, love and happiness. Will the world end with a bang or will humanity be changed for the better? Only you can decide.

Samhain Publishing is seeking submissions for their November 2011 End of Days themed anthology. Stories can be of any genre or heat level, and submissions are open to M/F, M/M, or multiples thereof, but all submissions must feature either an apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic theme (or both) as integral to the story. Submissions should be 20,000 to 30,000 words in length. All stories must end with a happy ever after for the hero and heroine. Yes, a HEA in an apocalyptic story – don’t you just love the contrast?

Submissions are open to all authors previously published with Samhain as well as authors aspiring to publish with Samhain. Submissions must be new material; previously published material will not be considered. Additionally, manuscripts previously submitted, whether individually or for past anthologies, will not be considered either. Please be aware that manuscripts submitted to this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from an editor. However, submissions with merit for possible publication at Samhain are and will be passed to interested Samhain editors even if not chosen for the End of Days anthology.

Chosen manuscripts will be published as separate ebooks under their individual titles in November 2011 but will be combined as one print title for Fall 2012 print release.

To submit a manuscript for consideration please include the full manuscript (of 20,000 to 30,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-3 page synopsis in addition to a letter of introduction/query letter which details the genre, heat level and story length. Full manuscripts are required.

As well, when you send your manuscript, please be sure to use the naming convention Title_EndofDays_MS and Title_EndofDays_Synopsis. This will ensure that your submission doesn’t get missed in the many submissions we receive, and makes it easy for me to find in my ebook reader.

Submissions are open until March 1, 2011 and final decision will be made by April 15, 2011.

Submissions and questions can be directed to Bethany Morgan at editor@samhainpublishing.com. Please put End of Days Anthology in the subject line.

The Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface, all great sexy films about mobsters in suits. How about we bend things a bit? With so many men packing heat, there are more than a few who play on our team. Imagine the sexual energy that arises from a perfect mob hit, explosions of gunfire, a high-speed car chase, busting someone’s kneecaps, and eruptions of all kinds.

What type are you? The Don, the hit man, the bodyguard, the fence, the pimp, or do you just work for the boys? Here is your chance to write that mobster, mafia or gangster story you have always fanaticized coming true. And, let’s keep this classy – think 1930s Chicago, 1940s New York, or 1950s Las Vegas. Leave the modern day gang warfare to the kids. These are the good old boys in pinstripe suits we are featuring

As always, your characters must be over 18 years of age.

We are seeking well-written stories that are erotic, not just pornographic. There are no limits to the possibilities or scenarios. All we ask is that writers be creative, have fun, and offer our readers something fresh and new. And, humor is always greatly appreciated! We want well-developed characters and plots, believable and accurate situations (even if it is fantasy or science fiction, it must make sense), and settings, along with internal consistency. All characters must be at least 18 years of age.

Feel free to query me about the thinking you may have about a story for this anthology at eric@starbookspress.com.

Submit your query to eric@starbookspress.com in the body of an email. Include a short bio, your name, postal and email addresses, the title and a five-paragraph excerpt of your story. Indicate whether or not your submission has been previously published and, if so, where and when. You don't need to sell your story in the letter; your work will speak for itself. If your query is accepted, We will be in contact with you about submitting the complete work. The end product should be no more than eight pages of single spaced 12 pt. type. Occasionally, novellas are accepted, but they must be exceptional. Be sure to edit and proof your query.

Sweet, sticky, decadent…is anything better than chocolate? Yes, there is – especially when the tempting mouthful is presented by a candy artistan who looks good enough to eat…

Lethe Press is seeking well-written, inventive gay male erotic stories that feature chocolatiers, confectioners, bakers, and candy men of every persuasion – including the one that got caught with his hand in the bon-bon box! Particularly attention paid to stories that are fun, upbeat, and a step or two off the beaten path…give us your best gourmet treats!

How to submit: Send double spaced Times or Times New Roman 12 point black font Word document with pages numbered (.doc, not .docx) OR RTF of 1,500-9,000 word story. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch and double space (regular double spacing, do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). US grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) required. Include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable), mailing address, and 50 word or less bio in the third person to cbanthology@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you'd like to be credited as. Payment for these stories will be 2 cents per word.

Absolute, total, final deadline is 3/30/11. I will reply to all submissions by 4/15/11.

[Heavily edited down to the essentials -- click through for (lots) more detail.]

Triangulation is an annual 125-150+ page short fiction anthology that publishes science fiction, fantasy, horror, and any other speculative fiction that caught the editors' fancy. Every year we have a theme: 2011's theme is "Last Contact". We pay semi-pro rates and are available online at places like Amazon.

We define "short fiction" as "up to about 5,000 words or so." If you have an awesome story that exceeds 5K then by all means send it; but be warned that we have yet to accept anything for publication much longer than 5000 words. We dig flash; there is no minimum word count.

We have no interest in getting more specific about the term "speculative fiction." Science fiction, horror, fantasy, magic realism, alternate history, whatever -- if there's a speculative element vital to your story, we'll gladly give it a read.

We love creative interpretations of our theme, "Last Contact". Don't ask us what it means -- tell us what it means with a story that convinces us you're right.

We will run mature content if we like the story. So make sure there's an actual story in that mature content.

We will consider reprints, but we are much more picky with them. If the story ran someplace obscure, then it's probably new to our readers; if it ran someplace high-profile, it's going to have to be the best thing we've read since the alphabet to get in.

The submission period is December 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011. All electronic submits must be sent within that period, all snail mail submits must be postmarked by the deadline.

Compensation: We pay two cents per word (USA funds, rounded to the nearest 100 words, US$10 minimum payment) on publication and one contributor's copy. The anthology will be published in late July of 2011. We purchase North American Serial Rights, and Electronic Rights for the downloadable version(s). All subsidiary rights released upon publication. Contributors will also have the option of purchasing additional copies of the anthology at reduced price.

How To Submit: Electronic submissions make our lives easier. Please upload your story via Submishmash. [See SUBMIT link on the publisher's page.] If this is your first time submitting to a publication that utilizes Submishmash, you will have to create an account with them. It’s free.

We'll consider stories in the following formats: .odt, .rtf, .doc or .docx.

Please use industry standard manuscript format. There's disagreement on some of the exact details of the "standard". We're not testing you to see if you can follow each and every niggling detail, we just want a manuscript that is easy for us to read.

If you absolutely positively cannot submit electronically, please send the manuscript (with either a SASE or a return email address) to:

Triangulation 2011312 N Beaver St.New Castle PA 16101

No multiple submissions; only send us one story at a time. No simultaneous submissions, don't send it to us if someone else is already considering it.

Response: Expect to hear back from us within a month. Feel free to start sending us nagging emails if you haven't heard from us after two months.

Remember those college days? The fun you had, partying every night, playing grab ass with your frat brothers. Yeah, those were the days. There you were stripped down to your BVDs, standing at attention, awaiting your punishment. And for what? To live in a house full of hot guys, always running around half naked, teasing each other.

But, what happens when that teasing gets a little hot? What happens when you are dared? What if you turn the tables on that frat brother? Will you get your butt kicked … or licked?

And hey, it wasn’t just in the dorms. There were plenty of us who went to community college, and the boys there were just as hot. Better yet, we could go off campus to get off. So, here is your chance to live out those college day fantasies. Show us what you got. As always, your characters must be over 18 years of age -- after all, they are in college.

We are seeking well-written stories that are erotic, not just pornographic. There are no limits to the possibilities or scenarios. All we ask is that writers be creative, have fun, and offer our readers something fresh and new. And, humor is always greatly appreciated! We want well-developed characters and plots, believable and accurate situations (even if it is fantasy or science fiction, it must make sense), and settings, along with internal consistency. All characters must be at least 18 years of age.

Feel free to query me about the thinking you may have about a story for this anthology at mickey@starbookspress.com.

Submit your query to mickey@starbookspress.com in the body of an email. Include a short bio, your name, postal and email addresses, the title and a five-paragraph excerpt of your story. Indicate whether or not your submission has been previously published and, if so, where and when. You don't need to sell your story in the letter; your work will speak for itself. If your query is accepted, We will be in contact with you about submitting the complete work. The end product should be no more than eight pages of single spaced 12 pt. type. Occasionally, novellas are accepted, but they must be exceptional. Be sure to edit and proof your query.

I am thrilled to announce I am editing the first annual Best Erotic Romance anthology to be published by Cleis Press. This inaugural collection of erotic romance will feature the very best of the erotic romance genre.

In erotic romance, the sexual component is critical to the development of the romantic relationship. According to Romance Writers of America, a romance must include two key elements: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying, optimistic ending. So be sure to give me a romantic story with scorching hot sex and a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending. Consider the work of authors Portia Da Costa, Lauren Dane, Sylvia Day, Delilah Devlin, Megan Hart, Joey W. Hill, Susan Johnson, Lora Leigh, Shannon McKenna, Kate Pearce, Robin Schone, Bertrice Small, Shiloh Walker and Sasha White to get an idea of what I am looking for.

Any time period is welcome, but I have a preference for contemporary settings. This collection will be primarily heterosexual and stories should be written with a female audience in mind. Stories may include lesbian and bisexual elements, triads, polyandrous relationships or group encounters. No incest, bestiality or underage characters, please.

Submission Guidelines: Unpublished stories only, no simultaneous submissions. The desired story length is 2,000-4,500 words. Double-space and indent the first line of each paragraph. Do not put extra spaces between paragraphs. Include your full contact information (legal name/pseudonym, mailing address and phone number) and a bio of 50 words or less written in the third person. Please paste your story into the body of your e-mail and attach it as a Microsoft Word .doc file.

Payment will be $100 per story and 2 copies of the book upon publication. Contributors retain the rights to their stories. I will notify contributors of their acceptance in August, but please note that Cleis Press has final approval over the manuscript. [Note: they're not kidding here. I know a writer who had a story accepted for a Cleis antho and went through edits and everything, only to have Cleis veto her story. This is not a pro forma approval, so be aware that you might well go through a lot of work here only to end up out.]

Send your submission to besteroticromance2012@gmail.com with Submission: Story Title in the subject line. Please direct any questions to the same address.

Cutting Block Press is pleased to announce an open submissions period for the 4th Volume of its Horror Anthology Series, +Horror Library+, to be published in trade paperback during 2011.

We're looking for the highest quality examples of all forms of Dark Fiction, running the gamut from traditional horror, supernatural, speculative, psychological thriller, dark satire, including every point between and especially beyond. No Fantasy or Sci-fi unless the horror elements are dominant. Read +Horror Library+ Volumes 1-3 to see what's already pleased us. Special consideration will be given those pieces that we find profoundly disturbing, though blood and violence on their own won't cut it. While we will consider tales of vampires, ghosts and zombies, we tend to roll our eyes at ordinary ones. They're just too plentiful. Your best bet is to surprise us with something that is different, while well conceived and tightly executed.

Guidelines: Stories will range between 1,000 and 6,000 words, though we'll look at longer works of exceptional merit. In that case, query before submission. Buying 1st worldwide anthology rights. No reprints. Paying 1.5 cents per word, plus one contributors copy. For established authors, rates may be negotiable. Response time: six months or sooner. Deadline: We will accept submissions until filled. All Queries to horrorlibrarysubs@yahoo.com.

Manuscript format: 12 point courier font, standard margins, left side of header: name, contact info, right side of header: word count, top of first page: title, author

Variances from traditional manuscript format: single space, NO INDENTS, ONE EXTRA space between paragraphs, use bold, italics and underline as they are to appear in story

Subject box: Short Story submission - title of story

Attach story in MS Word Document or RTF (only). Please paste your cover letter in the body of the e-mail. Send submissions to horrorlibrarysubs@yahoo.com.

[See the web page for a special offer on copies of Horror Library Vol. 1 for writers doing market research.]

MORTIS OPERANDI is looking for stories that revolve around the investigation of a crime and in which the supernatural plays a central role. While we’re expecting a fair share of murders, we strongly encourage stories that revolve around OTHER kinds of crime — for example, arson, assault, blackmail, bullying, burglary, dowry death, embezzlement, fraud, kidnapping, larceny, libel, piracy, product liability, slavery, smuggling, terrorism, treason, and toxic pollution are all fair game.

By "supernatural" we mean magic, monsters, and/or miracles, but we don’t consider psychic abilities (although the inclusion of a minor character possessing them will not in itself disqualify a story), extraterrestrial life, or UFOs to be supernatural.

Types of stories may include whodunits, police procedurals, hardboiled fiction, and courtroom dramas. All genres and treatments are welcome, including ecclesiastic, fantasy, humor, horror, historical, military, romance, and parody. Settings outside the U.S. and U.K. are welcome. Settings on other worlds aren’t.

We want well-written stories that demonstrate originality of concept and plot. Zombies, vampires, and werewolves will be a hard sell, and romantically inclined vampires will be staked on sight. Think outside of the coffin.

Stories will be judged exclusively on the basis of their literary merit; a history of prior publication is not necessary.

Get more information about our thoughts on this antho at Market Scoop.Submissions & Queries: anthology [[ at ]] theharrowpress.com==No simultaneous submissions. One submission at a time.==Please attach your stories to your email in Microsoft Word, RTF, or text-only format. Stories pasted in the body of an email will not be read.==Please include the words “Submission: Mortis Operandi” in the Subject line of your e-mail.Length: 3,000-6,000 words. Please include an approximate word count in your e-mail submission.Reprints: NoLanguage: EnglishPayment: US $50/story, upon publication, and a free copy of the bookRights: Exclusive English anthology print and electronic (e-book) rights. Please read our Sample Contract (pdf) for full details.Submission period: Opens 1.1.11 -- Closes when filled.Publication Date: 2012

Monday, February 7, 2011

Cole at Jessewave's reviewed the last (so far) of the Hidden Magic stories, Chasing Fear. He gave it 4.25/5.0 stars and seemed to like it quite a lot.

==========

I really enjoyed this story, which is set in the same verse as the Hidden Magic series, but deals with two characters we have not met before. I thought this was truly a story worthy of being a Halloween sip, because the mood that was set was definitely spooky, not to mention Martin himself — who it seems, right from the start is playing the part of the disciplinarian. Through much of the story, I was a little bit scared for Emilio, no matter how much he said that he wasn’t scared of his lover, but that what they were doing was in public, where anyone could walk upon them. It wasn’t until I got further into the story that I could see that Martin was doing this for Emilio, to help him see that he would always be safe with him, especially in the setting they were in — deep in the park, where the vines and trees are like an extension of Martin himself.

The sex scene is incredibly steamy in this story. If you like binding or public sex, you will very much like this story and its characters as I did. Emilio, who is tragic, yet sweet, and Martin, who one could call Nature’s Dom. I would love to read another story with these characters, as I got the feeling that here they were playing out a scene that was not indicative of their everyday lives together. I would love to see how they are together in a more domestic setting, as it seems to me that the tides might turn between our two characters depending on which setting gives which character more power in their games. Obviously, this story takes place outdoors, so Martin is in his element. Definitely Recommended, especially to fans of the series.

==========

I'm so glad Cole enjoyed this one, and the whole series enough to review them all. :D

If you've read "Chasing Fear" and enjoyed it, there's a free sequel on my web site called Catching Courage you might also like.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Tam at Brief Encounters -- a review blog that focuses on short stories -- posted a great review of my story Hell Is In the Details and gave it a B+, which is very cool. She said:

As a rule I enjoy demon and/or angel stories, and I especially enjoy them when they don’t take themselves too seriously. That is definitely the case here. Hell is pretty much like earth. Crappy jobs with bosses who ride you, forgotten deadlines, a loss of the passion for your work, an inbox full of unread e-mails … life can be as dull in Hell as anywhere else, despite all the fun of torture and mayhem. When Benioth’s boss lets him have it for not bringing the Big Boss his quota of souls, he is finally forced out of his apathy and decides that since he only has a few hours, debauching a young man into the ways of gay sex would be perfect. It’s fairly easy and bingo, he’s got his soul for the quota and can not think about it for another decade or two.

...

I loved Benioth and Andy. Benioth is kind of apathetic about life and Andy is all youthful exuberance and wide-eyed excitement. The contrast was nice to read and I felt it kind of woke Benny up again. He’d forgotten what that was like, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he was the Demon of Laziness or was it something more. He was really well drawn and his apathy came through loud and clear. What Andy was thinking and feeling was less clear as this is told from Benioth’s point of view, but his enthusiasm for life was evident. The sex had a nice mix of Benioth’s centuries of experience, combined with Andy’s uncertainty and eagerness, sweet and yet steamy too. This is a great light read, perfect as a pick-you-up between more serious fare or just something fun for a quick read before bed or at lunch time.

It sounds like she enjoyed it quite a lot, which is awesome. :)

Note before you click through that the middle part of the review is kind of spoilery; proceed at your own risk if you haven't read this yet and don't want the ending given away. OTOH if you're a reader who likes to know pretty much exactly what you're getting before you dive in, this write-up is perfect.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Mark Ketterson's husband John Fliszar passed away in July. Mr. Fliszar was a veteran of the Navy and served two terms in Viet Nam. He'd loved the Naval Academy and had told his husband that when he died he wanted to be interred there. Mr. Ketterson contacted the Academy to arrange for it, and once it was established that he was indeed Mr. Fliszar's legal husband, everything went smoothly, no different from how it would've been if they'd been a heterosexual couple.

Ketterson sent a copy of the marriage license. That changed everything.

"I was respected," he said. "From that moment on, I was next of kin. They were amazing."

Which is how it should be. Props to the Navy for having its act together and doing the right thing every step of the way. Hopefully some day soon there won't be any need to praise a person or institution for doing what's right regarding GLBT people, but for now I think positive reinforcement is still called for.

This is also a major reason why we need legal gay marriage throughout the country, not just here and there in a handful of states. The devoted life partner of a veteran -- or a civilian for that matter -- should always receive this kind of respect, not just an occasional few.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

I've blogged about the Law and the Multiverse site before, but I have to link to them again. Today's post is about Non-Human Intelligences and there's a whole shelf full of potential SF novels just in this one paragraph:

If the program is a person, is powering down the computer on which it is running murder? Does a powered-down AI have a right to be powered back on? If the program is copied, do we now have two people? Is deleting one of the copies homicide? If the program is installed on a person’s computer against their will, do they have to take care of it forever or can they delete it? Does introducing a trojan horse constitute assault, or is trespass a better analogy? Is the essence of the being the code, the running program, or what? Does the consciousness reside on the hard drive or in RAM? Maybe the CPU cache? What if the program is installed on a really slow computer? In a theoretical sense it’s still the same program, but is it still intelligent? We don’t even really think about regular programs with this kind of rigor, so something as sophisticated as an AI is likely to make a court draw a bright line that means it doesn’t have to think about that stuff.

This is a great site, and should be on the RSS feed reader of everyone who writes SF.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

I don't believe I missed another editing point by 26 words! [headdesk x a dozen]

It also makes my writing log look weird. I do my best to keep track of how things are going, wordcount-wise, and when I go through editing I usually have some weird little number. Figure, you delete some, add some, rewrite a sentence or a paragraph, diddle with your wording here and there, and after how ever many hours of work you end up with a total of 18 words over where you were before. Which looks ridiculous on the table, like I did ninety seconds of writing that day. Editing's like that, though. :/

Anyway, one of my New Year's goals was to be on Koala Approves (at least nine points) every month this year. I just made it for January, thanks to the Koala granting us a one-time point for posting a bio on the New-Challenge-Starting-Yay post. I'll have to do it all on my own this month, and with three fewer days too, yikes!

About Me

My name is Angie and I'm a writer living in Seattle, WA with my husband. I publish science fiction, fantasy and crime stories under Angela Penrose, and romance and erotica under Angela Benedetti. I pretty much live at the computer, either writing or online or both. My schedule is chaotically variable, so I might be awake or asleep at any given moment. It's not all bad; writing at 2am when it's quiet is actually pretty cool.